Camera flashbulbs lit up the concourse as the Dodgers deplaned their EVA 777 charter Thursday. From the hundreds of autograph seekers that greeted the team at Taloyuan International Airport to the police escort through rush-hour traffic, to the hundreds who lined the sidewalk in front of The Sherwood Taipei Hotel. From the standing-room-only press conference to the rollicking cocktail reception -- where several players were coaxed into sinagalongs with the band -- there's already a heightened excitement before any of the three games have been played against an All-Star team from the Chinese Professional Baseball League. "It's the energy," said outfielder Xavier Paul, one of many players who lingered at the party, in contrast to the rapid evacuation he and teammates made from a similar event kicking off the trip to China two years ago. "That welcome at the airport tonight -- that was crazy. When people welcome you like that, it lifts you up."